Fact Check: McSally ‘Equality’ Ad & Website Reveal Flip-flopping

When Congressional candidate Martha McSally ran for Congress in 2012, she was full Tea Party:

militarize the border

protect the military industrial complex

fight for big business and small government

balance the budget on the backs of the middle class and the poor

repeal and replace Obamacare;

fight for the “sanctity of life” (because of her deep faith in God)

ignore the civil rights struggles of workers, women, immigrants, people of color, the poor, and LGBTQ.

Fast forward to 2014, and we find that Tea Party Martha with her flight pants, t-shirts, and natural hairdo has morphed into Corporate Republican Martha, with a complete makeover of her ideas and her image. God, the sanctity of life, repeal and replace, and War on Women denials have quietly slipped off of McSally’s campaign website.

McSally’s Shift from Teapublican to Corporate Republican

McSally’s plain spoken “I’m wanna kick him in the jimmy” attitude from 2012 has slid to the left as the November 4 election approaches. This is no surprise; perhaps McSally’s handlers realize that extremism is not is vogue this year. (The American people now see that the 2010 Tea Party revolution has wreaked havoc with Congress and brought us the two least productive Congressional sessions in history.) Consequently, the Tea Party was much more popular in 2012 than it is now, and her past policies weren’t much different from her primary opponent Jesse Kelly’s. This year, McSally’s policies aren’t much different from her Democratic opponent CD2 Congressman Ron Barber.

Barber is about as middle-of the-road as one can be, often voting with Republicans on issues like militarization of the border, cuts to food stamps, increases in the military budget (even beyond what they asked for), and ceremonial anti-Obamacare votes that go nowhere (scoring political points in Cochise County). Although Barber wiggles around on some issues, he stands strong on women’s right to choose, equal pay for equal work, ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), raising the minimum wage, gay marriage, LGBTQ rights, and other social issues (scoring political points in Tucson). In fact, Bill Moyers recently wrote that the Barber-McSally rematch may be one of 10 races that could turn on women’s issues this year.

I think the McSally camp read Moyers’ article. In 2012, McSally dissed American women as a bunch of whiners, saying the real War on Women was in the middle east, where they have to wear burkas; there are honor killings; women have no choice regarding birth control, marriage, sex, or pregnancy; and women can’t vote, drive, or go outside, in some cases. Swap “burka” for “prairie dress” in that sentence, and you have hopped 1000s of miles from Riyadh to Arizona. In countries dominated by religious fundamentalism, women are not free to make their own choices– just look at Texas. In 2012, McSally said the so-called “War on Women” was a “distraction” from real issues.

She’s Got Issues!

Earlier in 2014, McSally was running a stealth campaign with no issues on her website, but constant hammering (by this blog and eventually the main stream media) has resulted in a slick new website featuring laundry list of well-crafted (but somewhat vague) public relations statements.

Many of her opinions are similar to what they were in 2012 but massaged for a broader audience. As in 2012, she strongly supports the military-industrial complex and completely ignores the civil rights of workers, the poor, immigrants, people of color, and gays. She is making a direct pitch to white women, which is interesting considering the recent flop of the #IAmARepublican ad campaign.

Her new ad campaign features feel-good, pro-woman messages to trick us into bailing on Barber, who has been a staunch supporter of women’s issues. The ad at the top of the page says McSally is “passionate” about “equal opportunity for women.” That sounds great until you look at the words. She’s not saying she’s going to do anything about discrimination against women in hiring, pay, or access to care. There are no action words like “fight”, “work”, or “vote”; she’s just “passionate.” Passion and $5 will get you a latte at Starbucks. OK, she’s not calling American women whiners this year, but she’s not really saying she’s going to help us by voting against Republican anti-woman legislation (which Barber has done). Also, “equal opportunity” sounds great, but that has been the law of the land for decades. It’s a very safe stance that sounds good but lacks substance. In her issues section “rebuilding the middle class”, all of her strategies are based on trickle down economics–building business by getting out of the way of capitalism, cutting taxes and cutting regulations. (No wonder the Koch Brothers like McSally so much.) Raising the minimum wage–a simple measure that would directly help people–has no place in McSally’s economic plans.

On her website, there is no mention of choice, abortion, reproductive health, access to affordable contraception, equal pay for equal work, support for the ERA, support for raising the minimum wage, or support for social safety net programs that help women and children living in poverty. Even though she is not invoking the “sanctity of life” and God, as she did in 2012, she’s still not standing with women. (In fact, when the Supreme Court sided with “deeply religious” corporate person, Hobby Lobby, over the rights of their female employees to have access to all types of contraception, McSally publicly sided with Hobby Lobby over women.)

On her website, McSally does say that she thought it was wrong for all Congressional Republicans to vote against equal pay for women multiple times, but she doesn’t say that she supports the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act or the Paycheck Fairness Act, or that she would have bucked her party and voted for these bills, or that she would fight to end wage discrimination. No substance.

McSally with more white women.

McSally says that she’s against violence against women– also a pretty safe opinion (even though Republicans have voted against domestic violence laws). When you compare her website PR to reality, there’s a disconnect. The recent influx of women and unaccompanied children into the US gave McSally the opportunity to say “secure the border!” about a dozen times in this Fox News interview. She showed no compassion whatsoever for the mothers and children who were fleeing rape, violence, and death in their home countries. Although most of the Central American women and girls had been raped coming north, McSally ignored that in her interview, instead she stressed changing the US laws to make it easier and quicker to deport the refugees and stop them from coming here. (I guess violence against non-white women–and most likely Lesbians–is OK with her.)

McSally’s Stance on ‘Obamacare’ Softens with Polls

Tea Party McSally was solidly in the “repeal and replace” Obamacare camp in 2012. After 40+ meaningless ceremonial votes and a Republican-led government shutdown over ending the Affordable Care Act (ACA) before it took effect a year ago, 12 million Americans now have health insurance who didn’t have it before. Even though it’s not perfect, lots of people like it!

Consequently, the call to “repeal and replace” has softened. The access-to-care section on her website is somewhat convoluted. Buried in a mountain of text, McSally still calls for replacing the ACA with a “bipartisan” solution (forgetting that the ACA was based upon a Republican model and that many compromises were made in the spirit of “bipartisanship” when the ACA was negotiated). Basically, she now says that she likes the parts of the ACA that Americans like– no pre-existing conditions, adult children can be on their parents’ insurance plans, and the end of price discrimination against women. Her proposal is a hodge-podge of Republican ideas, but she specifically avoids the lightening rod issues of access to contraception and Congressman Paul Ryan’s highly unpopular voucher system (which she supported in 2012).

Will the Real Martha McSally Please Stand Up?

McSally with volunteer, September 2012.

McSally in 2014 campaign photo.

Who is Martha McSally really? Is she the feisty Tea Party McSally of 2012, or is she the highly controlled, very slick, and somewhat deceptive Corporate Republican McSally of 2014?

This year, McSally is obviously being groomed and coached by mainstream Republicans. Her stances have moderated to be more closely aligned with Barber’s and the politically diverse CD2. Basically, they are both running as Republican-lite this year. Will the strategy work?

I say, “Don’t buy the lie.” We don’t know who McSally is, but it’s clear she still doesn’t stand with all Arizona women because we’re not all straight and white.

Progressive Action

Governor Ducey had proposed increasing prison beds and funding, while cutting education. Protesters took issue with that short-sighted idea.

We often hear that corporations need migrant workers because Americans “don’t want to do these jobs.” When I hear this statement, I picture farm workers picking vegetables. Recently, I toured two dairies and an animal feed packing plant in Pinal County. The photo above from the Zinke Dairy shows a giant cow milking carousel. Nine migrant workers milk 4000 cows three times a day at this dairy. Legislators watched the two men pictured here– working at a brisk pace– bend over and pick up, lift, and attach large electronic suction cups to the cows as they ride the carousel around the giant facility. This level of automation is the wave of the future for industrial jobs.

Safe Park, downtown Tucson

Desconocido (unknown)

John Nichols of ‘The Nation’ addressed progressives and unionists at a Tucson event.

Despite the sweltering heat, Jim and I had a great time at the Labor Day Picnic. We collected a lot of Clean Elections $5 donations and signatures. Here I am with LD9 chair Michael Dues.

Protesting migrant deaths in the Arizona desert.

We are the 99%.

PDA Tucson Coordinator Jim Hannley speaks against both the crowd management ordinance and the urban camping ban at the City Council meeting.

I have a background in research. Help me build Tucson’s tech industry and grow our own local businesses.

Rep. Sally Ann Gonzales and I were interviewed by NBC at the Phoenix rally.

Jim and I were part of a contingent of Unitarian Universalists who came up from Tucson. Here I am with Rev. Ron Phares from the Mountain Vista UU Church in my district. (Jim is photobombing us.)

Rep. Pamela Powers Hannley with members of the Tucson Chapter of NOW on opening day at the Arizona Legislature, 2018.

A homeless man sleeps in the shadow of corporate America.

In the 1980s, the Tucson Weekly called Tucson the “Baked Apple”.

The Living Economy event was very informative; we had a great time hob-nobbing. My husband Jim is a small business owner and a member of Local First Arizona. I have owned two small businesses in the past– Powers/Queen Associates and Wind Dancer Design. We support Local First Arizona and buying/investing locally. We believe that supporting local small businesses with low-interest loans through a public/private partnership between a public bank and community banks and credit unions is the sustainable route to improving our local economy. Trickle down economics doesn’t work; it’s time for new ideas.

Jobs with Justice marching with Occupy Tucson in support of postal workers.

Occupy encampment in Armory Park– before it was cleared out in the middle of the night by Tucson Police.

There have been many lively debates in the Arizona House in 2018. This team of House Democrats fought for consumer protections and fought against risky financial deals in a “regulatory sandbox.” (Pictured are Reps. Mitzi Epstein, Kelli Butler, Athena Salman, Pamela Powers Hannley, Ken Clark and Isela Blanc.)

It was truly a honor to meet Nevada State Senator Patricia Spearman (center) in October and to confer with her regarding our efforts to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) in Arizona. Spearman led the successful Nevada efforts to ratify the ERA in 2017. Here we are with activist and NOW leader Dainne Post after the ERA workshop at the We the People Conference in Phoenix. There are a lot of Arizona women who are ready to make history in 2018. Watch my blog here and my Facebook page here for ERA updates.

Visiting with PALF chairman Fred Yamashita at the 2016 Labor Day Picnic.

Ironically, I posted this blog post on the anniversary of this election on June 19. 1970ish.

A giant poet’s head made up of stainless steel letters marks the stop near the UA Poetry Center.

Congressman Ron Barber and Pamela Powers Hannley at Cyclovia

This is a broken sink in the Ladies’ Room at the Arizona State Building in downtown Tucson. One of the elevators also was broken. It’s time to fix Arizona government.

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About

I stand on the side of Love. I believe in kindness to all creatures on Earth and the inherent self-worth of all individuals--not just people who agree with me or look like me.

Widespread economic and social injustice prompted me to become a candidate for the Arizona House, representing Legislative District 9 in the 2016 election. My platform focuses on economic reforms to grow Arizona's economy, establish a state-based public bank, fix our infrastructure, fully fund public education, growlocal small businesses and community banks, and put people back to work at good-paying jobs. I also stand for equal rights, choice, and paycheck fairness for women. I am running as a progressive and running clean.

My day job is managing editor for the American Journal of Medicine, an academic medicine journal with a worldwide circulation. In addition, my husband and I co-direct Arizonans for a New Economy, Arizona's public banking initiative. I am a member of the national board of the Public Banking Institute, and I am co-chair of the Arizona Democratic Progressive Caucus, the largest caucus of the Arizona Democratic Party.

I am a published author, photographer, videographer, clay artist, mother, nana, and wife. I have a bachelor's degree in journalism from Ohio State University and a masters in public health from the University of Arizona. I grew up in Amherst, Ohio, but I have lived in Tucson, Arizona since 1981. I am a proud member of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Tucson and the Public Relations Society of America.

My Tucson Progressive blog and Facebook page feature large doses of liberal ideas, local, state, and national politics, and random bits of humor. I also blog at Blog for Arizona and the Huffington Post.